thumb|[[High Priest of Israel wearing the sacred vestments. The ephod is depicted here in yellow.]]

An ephod (; or ) was a type of apron that, according to the Hebrew Bible, was worn by the High Priest of Israel. It was a revered artifact in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracular practices and priestly ritual.

In the Books of Samuel and Books of Chronicles, David is described as wearing an ephod when dancing in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:14, 1 Chronicles 15:27) and one is described as standing in the sanctuary at Nob, with a sword behind it (1 Samuel 21:9). In the book of Exodus and the Book of Leviticus, one is described as being created for the High Priest to wear as part of his official vestments (Exodus 28:4+, 29:5, 39:2+; Leviticus 8:7).

Description

In the Bible, in the contexts where it is worn, the ephod is usually described as being linen, but did not constitute complete clothing of any kind, as the Books of Samuel describe. 1 Chronicles 15 states that David was "clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark... [and] David also wore an ephod of linen," and 2 Samuel 6:14 that "David was wearing a linen ephod". There appears to have been a strong religious and ceremonial implication to wearing an ephod, since the 85 priests at Nob are specifically identified as being the type of people who wore an ephod; though the Masoretic Text here describes them as being linen ephods (1 Samuel 22:18) the word "linen" is not present in the Septuagint version of the passage, nor is it present when the Septuagint describes David and Samuel as girding themselves with an ephod. Therefore, some textual scholars regard its presence in the Masoretic Text as a later editorial gloss. biblical scholars believe that the ephod may have evolved into this highly ceremonial form from more primitive beginnings (the simple linen form described in the Books of Samuel), much like how the highly liturgical maniple evolved from an ordinary handkerchief. the Books of Samuel imply that whenever Saul or David wished to question God via oracular methods, they asked a priest for the ephod.

The object at Nob, which must have been somewhat freestanding since another object was kept behind it, and the objects made by Gideon and by Micah from molten gold, logically cannot have just been garments.

Gideon went on to make an ephod out of the gold won in battle; according to Ginzberg's The Legends of the Jews: "In the high priest's breastplate, Joseph was represented among the twelve tribes by Ephraim alone, not by Manasseh, too. To wipe out this slight upon his own tribe, Gideon made an ephod bearing the name of Manasseh. He consecrated it to God, but after his death homage was paid to it as an idol. In those days the Israelites were so addicted to the worship of Beelzebub that they constantly carried small images of this god with them in their pockets, and every now and then they were in the habit of bringing the image forth and kissing it fervently." According to the Bible, this action eventually caused the whole of Israel to turn away from God yet again and the ruin of Gideon and his family. Gideon had 70 sons from the many women he took as wives. He also had a Shechemite concubine who bore him a son he named Abimelech, which means "my father is king" ().

In apocryphal literature

According to the ancient apocryphal Lives of the Prophets, after the death of Zechariah ben Jehoiada, the priests of the Temple could no longer see the apparitions of the angel of the Lord, make divinations with the Ephod, or give responses from the Holy of Holies.

See also

  • Priestly breastplate
  • Priestly golden head plate
  • Priestly robe (Judaism)
  • Priestly sash
  • Priestly tunic
  • Priestly turban
  • Priestly undergarments
  • Tetzaveh

References

  • Ephod
  • Recreation of the Ephod
  • Catholic Encyclopedia – Ephod
  • Verses where Ephod occurs (NASB)